AMAZONIAN VIOLENCE: CONFUSION ABOUT DETAILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000810 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER PE SUBJECT: AMAZONIAN VIOLENCE: CONFUSION ABOUT DETAILS REF: LIMA 795 Classified By: Amb. P Michael McKinley for reasons 1.4b and d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Confusion still surrounds the June 5 outbreak of violence in Bagua, complete with competing versions about who shot first and which side suffered more casualties. What is clear is that, on the same day in a separate violent incident on the outskirts of Bagua , about 500 indigenous protestors tortured and executed nine captive police officers who had surrendered before security forces rescued remaining hostages. Estimates of the total number of people killed in the violence continue to fluctuate, but the government claims nine protestors and 24 police dead, several of whom were disarmed before being killed. Separately, the highly respected independent human rights ombudsman confirmed 21 police and nine protestors dead as of June 6th. It is too early to discount the possibility of higher civilian casualties. While the government and opposition publicly exchange blame, the potential for confrontations in other parts of the Amazon remains. Meanwhile, indigenous protest leader Alberto Pizango has gone into hiding but may still be in Lima. (Septel will report on looming political ramifications including censures of the Prime and Interior Ministers as well as the debate over the decrees.) End Summary. Confusion Over Facts of Friday Violence -------------- ¶2. (C) Confusion still shrouds the details surrounding the outbreak of violence on the main highway at the "Devil's Curve" 40 km from Bagua in the Amazonas region of northern Peru on Friday, June 5th. According to the government's version of events: police fired on protestors only after protestors shot at a government helicopter dropping teargas from overhead (ref). Indigenous and social movement leaders from the area claim that the government fired first on otherwise peaceful protestors. One contact from Bagua told us he believed the indigenous protestors mistakenly believed the PNP's firing of tear gas canisters were live rounds. This information was then broadcast on local radio. ¶3. (C) Two contacts in the area say that tensions were inflamed when word spread among protestors that popular, moderate indigenous leader, Santiago Manuin Valera, had been killed in the town of Bagua Grande, fueling their subsequent attacks on police, including the reported deaths of five disarmed police. (The killing of an indigenous person is akin to a declaration of war, one specialist in Amazonian issues told the press. Valera was later found injured and transferred to a hospital in Chiclayo.) Other Embassy contacts in Bagua have commented that the Huambisa ethnic group in the area is especially warlike and served successfully in Peru's war with Ecuador. Indigenous leaders have also claimed that security forces have dumped some civilian corpses in the rivers or in wells to obscure the body count, while government officials have underscored that the higher police death toll clearly demonstrates that the worst aggression came from the other side. Separate Incident: 9 Police Executed -------------- ¶4. (C) One incident about which there is no confusion is that, several hours after the initial clash on Friday morning, a group of about 500 indigenous protestors seized a pumping station at Imzita near Bagua operated by PetroPeru and executed nine police hostages. The PetroPeru station had been guarded by 38 police, all of whom surrendered to the assault and sought to initiate dialogue. According to one reported eyewitness, indigenous intruders lulled security forces to lower their guard with the presence of women and children. Survivors report that when the protestors heard about the death of their fellow indigenous in the battle with police that morning, the indigenous became enraged and opened fire on the hostages. Other reports suggest that the indigenous protestors slit the throats of the hostages upon learning of an imminent rescue operation. One contact in Bagua speculated that the nine officers executed may have been chosen because of perceived past transgressions against the local population. ¶5. (C) Estimates of the total number of people killed in the violence on Friday continues to fluctuate. The government has confirmed 24 dead police - including the nine executed at the pumping station - while indigenous leaders claim up to 30 dead protestors. Human Rights Ombudsman Beatriz Merino, who traveled to the Bagua, as of June 6th has confirmed 21 police and nine protestor deaths. Ombudsman officials have emphasized to us that competing versions of deaths and injuries complicate the picture, but that they and public investigators remain on the scene to investigate the incidents and clarify details. The press is reporting 79 civilians arrested, and 83 people in various hospitals. Other Potential Hotspots -------------- ¶6. (C) The potential for violent confrontations in other parts of the Amazon remains. To the south of Baguas, about 600 police have reportedly mobilized to dislodge several thousand indigenous blocking the highway from Tarapoto (in San Martin region) to Yurimaguas (in Loreto region). Press reports indicate that the protestors have regrouped closer to Yurimaguas in order to draw support from local social and radical movements in the event of a clash with police. Meanwhile, participants at the Fourth Amazonian Summit, held in Tarapoto last week, called for a national, indefinite strike to begin on June 11. Summiteers called for the derogation of several decrees governing Amazonian issues, as well as for the removal and trial of President Garcia. Separately, small protests in support of the indigenous demands were reported in Cusco and Arequipa. Government Statements -------------- ¶7. (C) The GOP has unequivocally declared indigenous leader Alberto Pizango as the "intellectual author" of the Bagua violence, and issued a warrant for his arrest on that basis. Legal analysts say Pizango -- who just weeks earlier called for protestors to rebel and disobey the government -- could face 35 years in prison for inciting violence, sedition, possession of arms, and other charges. At the same time, in speeches and media events, President Garcia, PM Yehude Simon, and Minister of the Interior Mercedes Cabanillas have made frequent references to outside actors and infiltrators, although they have declined to provide evidence. President Garcia likened the police officers to the martyrs who died defending Peru against the Chileans in the War of the Pacific in 1879. The Ministry of Interior created a brief TV spot denouncing protesters' actions and showing graphic images depicting the very violent deaths of police officers. Official accounts continue to emphasize the deaths of defenseless police officer hostages, and claim the body count of police victims outnumbers that of civilians by at least 2-to-1. Opposition Response -------------- ¶8. (C) From the opposition, criticism of the GOP's handling of the situation has been harsh. Ollanta Humala's Nationalist party and even more moderate politicians have called for PM Simon and Interior Minister Cabanillas to resign, blaming the cabinet for mishandling the indigenous protests and conflict from the beginning. In a press conference, Humala addressed security forces directly and told them not to use weapons against protestors, obliquely warning them that the current government is transitory and that subsequent governments may choose to investigate human rights abuses. The opposition newspaper La Primera, linked to Ollanta Humala and his party, has printed sensationalist banner headlines accusing the government of massacre. Some moderate opposition leaders have also criticized the government, but may be softening their rhetoric as the situation worsens. Pizango on the Run -------------- ¶9. (C/NF) Following his press conference on June 5, Aidesep leader Alberto Pizango went into hiding. Subsequently, radical former congressman Ricardo Letts, who has reportedly been advising Pizango in recent weeks, called us to say that Pizango was interested in requesting asylum in the United States, arguing that the arrest warrant violated his rights. (Note: Letts met with Poloff two weeks ago and talked enthusiastically about the indigenous "revolution of the masses" and how the protests could eventually lead to the overthrow of the government. At the time, Letts did not say that he was advising Pizango directly. End Note.) The GOP says Pizango may have fled to Bolivia, while Pizango's spokespeople say they believe he is hiding somewhere in Peru; other reports suggest he has hidden in Lima. MCKINLEY